Enthusiast Spotlight: How I Ended Up with 3 Corvettes!

Forum member acquires fantasy car collection including C4 Indy Pace Car, C5 50th Anniversary Edition, and 2011 C6 — all with low miles.

Recently, we featured a post about the current C4 Corvette market. At the end of the post, we encouraged you guys to submit your cars for a feature if your ride has a good backstory. This one comes to us from Washington, D.C., where fellow Corvette Forum member Craig Byrdwell shared his story.

Byrdwell first reached out to us because he wanted to let us know about his latest acquisition: a special-edition 1995 Indy 500 Pace Car C4. Just to make things even more special, this particular example only has 81 miles. Some of us drive 81 miles in a single day.

“I’ll go all over the country to get the right ultra-low mileage vehicle,” Byrdwell tells Corvette Forum. “Plus, I’m very patient and will wait years for the right vehicle to come along.”

For those unfamiliar with this limited-edition C4 model, Chevy made only three originals for the 1995 Indy 500. They featured special safety items like strobe lights, a roll bar with five-point harness, and a fire suppression system. This is definitely the safest OEM C4 Corvette ever built. Not only that, it stands out from a standard C4 due to its unique Dark Purple Metallic and Arctic White two-tone color scheme. While Chevy only produced three official pace cars, they offered 527 official replicas for sale.

At the time, you could order the “Pace Car” option on a new C4 for only an extra $2,816 from select dealers. These replicas didn’t feature the same safety equipment seen on the actual pace cars. However, they retained the paint colors and some special features. These are desirable cars and their price is increasing as a result. There are fewer than 527 examples today, so finding one is not easy.

From C4 to C6, One at a Time

Initially, a C4 Pace Car wasn’t even on Brydwell’s radar. “I was not looking for another Corvette, I was actually looking for a 2013 Chevy Avalanche with super-low miles,” he says. “But since I drive a 2011 C6 ‘Vette, I like to look them up just to see what’s on the market. That’s when I ran across the ad for the 1995 Indy Pace Car.

“The advertisement actually said that this car had been won by Dale Earnhardt as part of the prize purse for the 1995 Brickyard 400. It was being sold on consignment by the previous owner.

“But when I asked if they had any documentation of that, they told me that the owner said he had lost it when he had moved. So, I did not consider that in my purchase offer,” continues Brydwell.

“This one had started originally at $49,100, which is close to the sticker on the car, of $49,750. But it did not sell, so the price kept going down over last year until it came down to $24,900 last November. I saw it in December.

“They had a lot of pictures showing every aspect of the car, including the undercarriage, engine bay, backs of wheels… It was obvious that it was the real deal,” he adds.

Byrdwell is no stranger to the game of buying cars online sight unseen. He had done the same with his C6 with 2,319 miles, which he bought online from a dealership in New Jersey. And now with $24,500 subtracted from his pocket, Byrdwell became the proud owner of a 1995 Indy 500 Pace Car with 81 miles.

“When I got the 1995 Pace Car, I looked through the owner’s manual and warranty booklet and found that it had been sold to a fellow in North Carolina, and he had sold it with 20 miles on it to the guy I bought it from,” adds Byrdwell. “So, the whole Dale Earnhardt story was a tall tale… but since it didn’t factor into my buying calculus, and because the car has turned out to be exactly what was advertised, with 81 true original miles, I feel like I got one heck of a deal!

“I had it delivered by truck, and drove it right off the truck to my auto shop to have every fluid changed: oil, transmission, coolant, power steering, brake fluid, and rear differential… The car is magnificent, absolutely like brand-new,” he continues. “One edge of the console lid did start to lift a little after sitting for 25 years, but I’ve already ordered a replacement, ordered C4 emblem sill guards, spare VATS ignition keys, spare PKE fob, car cover, and Bluetooth/cassette adapter. I’m going to keep the car all original, but I’m not going to be afraid to drive it on sunny days and weekends. I did get the Pace Car stickers in a box with it, but I like the clean look without them. It really is like brand new.”

Seeing Triple?

However, just when we thought this story was coming to a close, Byrdwell provided us with some updates. To start, his C4 now has 240 miles. And…he added another stunning car to his collection!

“Well, this week, I bought my third Corvette: a 2003 50th Anniversary Edition C5 Corvette convertible, with 5,481 miles,” he tells Corvette Forum.

How much did he pay for it? $24,500, the exact price he paid for the C4 pace car. “I insisted on that price because that is exactly what I paid for the 1995 Pace Car convertible’ he says. “They said someone else had agreed to pay more and was supposed to show up later that day to finalize the deal, but if I got there first they would take my offer. So, now I have three Corvettes!”

Today, Byrdwell is the proud owner of a C4, C5, and C6 Corvette. If you didn’t notice, they all share the same red color scheme, even if they aren’t the exact same color. Sadly, Byrdwell will be separating the ’95 from the rest of the trio “because it’s too hazardous to drive it in D.C. traffic.” As a result, he will be bringing it back to his home in Kentucky. Thankfully, before they parted ways, Byrdwell was kind enough to take some photos for us of the gang before saying goodbye.

Wondering why he bought the last car? Well, as he perfectly puts it, “three Vettes is better than two!”

Photos for Corvette Forum by Craig Byrdwell

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